Chapter 15

During the day, after completing the reconnaissance of the Lastock garrison, I returned to Volzard for a moment.

Even so, since the movement is through the Shadow World, I can instantly return to the back alleys of Volzard.

I plan to go back to the dormitory, have dinner, and then return to Lastock for more reconnaissance.

By the way, for lunch, I managed to get a little from the knights' cafeteria in the garrison.

The meals of my classmates, as Fred reported, were of lower quality than those of the regular soldiers.

However, it seems that those who performed well in the morning training were given better meals.

As expected, Shunzan, who was always the worst, was only given a small amount of the poorest quality food, and he seemed to have become quite slim.

Yeah, it feels like he was committed to a diet.

The handsome basketball club member and the class president were given even better meals than the knights.

Especially the class president, who was provided with high-nutrient, easily digestible foods, as well as fresh fruits.

Ah, I know those fruits; I ate them for three meals a day in the Demon Forest.

By the way, isn't it because they aren't being given proper meals that their magic isn't working well?

But, even on a fruit-only diet, I could use magic, so maybe it doesn't matter.

In other aspects, there is a clear distinction as well.

After completing their training, my classmates wash their bodies in a communal bathing area.

In the changing room, they receive a spoonful of powdered soap from a Reisenburg soldier and use it to wash their heads and bodies.

Since it's a bathing area, there are no bathtubs, and they use a large bucket to scoop water and wash their bodies.

It's already the tenth month, so the temperature has dropped significantly. Even after sweating from exercise, it's tough when the body is cold, and everyone was shivering.

I peeked at the women's bathing area, and everyone's lips were purple and they were shivering. The situation was so miserable that I couldn't even get excited.

On the other hand, the handsome guy was in a private dormitory bath with a blonde beauty.

The blonde beauty was wearing something like a bathrobe, but it became see-through when wet.

"Sir Hero, I will wash your back."

"Shiria, at this time, I am not a hero but just a man. I want you to call me by my name as usual..."

"Forgive me, Shuichi-sama..."

"Shiria..."

What, are you even kissing him? Explode, explode, explode!

It's so ridiculous that I can't even watch, so I'll move on, move, move.

By the way, where is our angel, the class president?

What, no, I don't want to peek at the class president's bathing scene or anything... Sorry, I really do want to.

"Holy Lady... At this time, you should still be in the infirmary..."

"What? But everyone has already eaten and bathed..."

"Holy Lady... You always work late treating people..."

I moved to the infirmary, and as Fred said, the class president was treating injured classmates from the morning training.

However, there were too many people, and it was impossible to fully heal them.

Still, the pain seemed to lessen, and everyone was grateful to the class president.

"Sorry, just a little more..."

After treating the last person, the class president collapsed on the infirmary sofa and immediately fell asleep.

The female assistant, who seemed to know what to do, brought a blanket from the cabinet and gently covered the class president.

"Truly, you are worthy of being called a Holy Lady... I must wake you up after a while, feed you, have you take a bath, and make sure you rest properly..."

The assistant looked at the class president's sleeping face with a motherly or sisterly expression full of affection.

It seems she is genuinely concerned, but I'm worried about the class president's fatigue.

Then, perhaps I should help the class president recover.

I gently placed my hand on the class president's back, who was lying on the sofa, and imagined her body recovering.

Now, I can do this without even thinking because I've been using self-healing repeatedly, and it's firmly ingrained.

Maybe this is the result of hard work.

"Holy Lady, Holy Lady, it's time to wake up and have dinner. If you want to sleep properly, use the bed in your room."

Oh, the assistant is back.

"Hmm, hmm... Hmm, what? What happened, Holy Lady?"

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"It's the same as usual..."

"What's this, my body feels so light, as if all the fatigue has been washed away."

Oh, the class president is swinging her arms around and seems very energetic.

My healing magic seems to have worked well.

"Holy Lady, perhaps your level of light attribute magic has increased because you've been using it every day."

"Level increased...?"

"Yes, while magic doesn't have strict levels, it's common for the effects to suddenly improve after practice, which is generally referred to as a level increase."

"Maybe... The treatment of children in the morning was different from before..."

"Perhaps you were unconsciously using self-healing."

"Self-healing! I can do it too! Ah, this means I might be able to treat more people..."

Oh no, did I create another problem?

Reinhardt, don't look at me like that, even though you only have empty eye sockets, why can I see a glare?

"Sir Kent, it might be a bit clumsy..."

"I know, by the way, if you can use light attribute magic, shouldn't you be able to use self-healing?"

"Such sudden self-healing... Only Sir Kent... It's ridiculous..."

The class president is holding the assistant's hand and laughing happily.

Oh no, the situation is getting harder to explain.

"Sir Kent, if we don't check on this from time to time, it might become a bad situation."

"Ugh, you're right... Well, since I can use shadow movement, I can come quickly, so it's okay, ha, ha, ha..."

As the class president and the assistant were chatting happily, the infirmary door suddenly opened.

The one who entered was that evil princess, Camilla.

The class president's face, which had been smiling happily, immediately tensed up.

"Hmm, you seem quite happy, Holy Lady..."

"What do you want?"

"Don't look so scared. I heard you saved a child on the brink of death this morning, so I came to check on you."

"It's nothing special... I do the same as usual."

"Hmph, I see... Then continue as you have been. When the practical training in the Demon Forest begins, there will be more severe injuries."

"What! Why do we have to do such dangerous things!"

"Hehe, if you don't want more sacrifices, you must improve your healing skills. Otherwise... hehehe..."

"Hehehe, I'll show you, I won't let another person become a sacrifice! I will protect them!"

"Hehehe, I look forward to it... Holy Lady... hahaha..."

Ugh, so annoying, so annoying, what is that evil princess, so annoying...

Camilla left with a high laugh, and the class president watched her go with a bitter expression.

"I'll go back to my room and rest..."

"Yes, Holy Lady..."

After seeing the class president off to the dormitory, I decided to spy on the evil princess.

The evil princess, though not wearing a golden armor, was dressed in a luxurious knight's uniform with a stand collar, riding pants, and boots, and had a saber at her waist.

It feels like a certain opera troupe, but the lack of a cosplay feel is probably because she is used to it.

The place the evil princess walked to with large strides was the garrison's command room.

According to Fred's information, Camilla is in charge of this garrison.

As a third princess, she is dressed as a man and is the commander of a border garrison, quite a wild horse.

As Camilla approached the command room, the guard promptly opened the door.

Even in an era without automatic doors, there are automatic doors for important people.

"Thank you for your hard work..."

Camilla thanked the guard with a surprisingly gentle voice, entered the room, returned the saber to the rack, and instructed the secretary to make tea.

Camilla stood in front of the map on the wall, arms crossed, with a frown.

She really has an annoying face... If she were a bit cuter, her beautiful face would be ruined.

Camilla continued to look at the map until the tea arrived, and even while drinking tea, she kept staring at the map.

What is she thinking about?

"Hey, Reinhardt, what do you think she's thinking about?"

"Yes, if we think normally, it would be about choosing a route for an attack, but it seems to be taking a lot of time."

"Yeah... If we think normally, the easiest way to attack would be to expand the existing road, right?"

"Yes, with the current road width, it's difficult to move a large army, so the usual method would be to expand the road under the pretext of road maintenance and then attack."

If that's the case, there's no need to worry about choosing a route, and it seems she is looking at the forest part of the map.

As I observed Camilla, who was still looking at the map, there was a knock on the command room door.

"Who is it?"

"It's Shiria..."

"Come in!"

The visitor was the blonde maid dedicated to the handsome guy, but she looked unhappy.

"What about the snot-nosed hero?"

"He's resting..."

"What, he's sleeping at this time? Then he's not doing the important things, is he?"

"No, that's not it..."

What, important things? And why is the maid holding her lower abdomen?

"Hmph, for his age, he's so cold, like an old man. Well, I understand your role, right?"

"Yes, to seduce the hero and bear a child..."

"Yes, you have half the royal blood in you. Fulfill your role, or the stray cat will suffer..."

"I, I understand..."

"Then continue your duties. By the way, seduce the snot-nosed hero tomorrow morning so you can fulfill your role. You may leave now..."

"Yes, I'll take my leave..."

Whoa, the moment Camilla returned her gaze to the map, the blonde maid glared at her with a killing intent.

Scary, I've never seen such a murderous look before, and I almost wet myself.

"Fred, that maid seems to have a story, can you investigate?"

"Understood..."

"Reinhardt, the evil princess mentioned half the royal blood...?"

"Probably a bastard child of the king and someone other than the queen."

"But, wouldn't that make her the evil princess's sister?"

"Yes, but her mother's status is probably low."

"Is her mother being held hostage or something?"

"Probably... The boy with the fire attribute has considerable potential, so if he resists, he would be the biggest obstacle, and if he doesn't work, it would be a significant loss. Therefore, they are trying to bind him with a bond by having him bear a child with someone of royal blood."

Damn, so annoying, so annoying, that evil princess is really annoying.

The evil princess continued to stare at the map for a while, then called the secretary and went to her dormitory.

Since she didn't say anything or write anything in the command room, I thought she might reveal something in her room, so I continued to monitor her.

However, the evil princess, who had already finished dinner, took a bath, changed into pajamas, told her personal maid the wake-up time, and enjoyed two glasses of nightcap before quickly falling asleep.

What? Did I peek at her bathing scene? Well, it was part of the reconnaissance, so I couldn't help it... I just monitored a little bit.

Since the target was asleep, there was no point in staying at the garrison, so we returned to the training ground in the Demon Forest.

We spent one day, but we got a good grasp of the situation of our classmates.

Now, we need to think about how to proceed with the rescue operation.

"Sigh... What should we do..."

I sighed deeply because the image of the women's bathing scene came to mind.

Yes, I admit I peeked out of curiosity.

After all, it's not often you get to see the bathing scenes of female classmates.

But, the moment I peeked, I felt as if I had been doused with cold water.

Everyone's lips were purple from the cold, and they were crying while bathing, saying they wanted to go home.

Seeing them in such a state, I'm not a monster who could get excited.

"Sir Kent, the only one who likely knows the way back to the original world is probably that princess."

"Yeah, I think so too. That evil princess doesn't seem to tell anyone."

"If that's the case, we need to find out or make her talk."

"Yeah, but I don't think she'll talk easily..."

The naked body of the evil princess in the bath was clearly well-trained.

Her arms and legs were well-muscled, and her abs were slightly visible, showing an athletic build.

No wonder she can toss Shunzan with one hand.

She discards the useless and uses them as an example, and probably uses her half-sister, whom she resents, to seduce the hero.

She is cold, calculating, and disciplined... I don't think she will speak the truth easily.

"Being in control of the way back to the original world is a tough situation, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's tough, but we can't stop the rescue operation just because of that."

"Yeah... We are in a situation where our safety and the way back are both in her hands."

"That's right. Even if we negotiate with the princess, we need to save our classmates first."

"Hmm... Even so, how should we proceed?"

Reinhardt raised three metallic bone fingers.

"Three...?"

"Yes, the first is the method to get the classmates out of the garrison, the second is the place to receive them, and the third is an informant."

"I see, let's think about each one."

"First, the place to receive them. Currently, only Volzard is an option."

"Yeah, the other side of the forest is all enemy territory."

"However, even if Volzard values talent, it's uncertain whether they can accept nearly two hundred people at once."

"That's true. In my case, it was just one person, but two hundred at once would affect housing, food, and jobs."

"Yes, so we need to talk to Lord Claus."

"Right, we need to talk and ask for cooperation eventually."

"Sir Kent, I have a suggestion..."

Since Reinhardt seems to have an idea, of course, I'll listen.

"Delay the rescue operation a bit... Why?"

"Yes, fortunately, your classmates are receiving training at the garrison."

"Right! Let them continue training and build their strength?"

"Exactly."

Reinhardt nodded in agreement.

"Right, to escape to Volzard, they need to go through the Demon Forest. If they have combat training, they might be able to protect themselves."

"True, it's